Strandings of Beaked Whales (Ziphiidae) in Galicia (NW Spain) between 1990 and 2013

In the coast of Galicia an average of 200 stranded cetaceans are reported annually. From 1990 to 2013, 21 individuals of four species of the family Ziphiidae were found: 15 Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), two Sowerby's beaked whales (Mesoplodon bidens), one True's beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus) and one Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), as well as two unidentified ones. These were the first records in Galicia for True's beaked whale and Blainville's beaked whale. The study of the distribution of oceanic species considering only stranded animals has limitations, but is a good approach to this not well-known cetacean family. Due to the small number of individuals of the different species, statistical analyses for geographic or seasonal patterns were only carried out for the Cuvier's beaked whales. Between the periods of 1990-2002 and 2003-2013 significant differences were found for geographic and seasonal occurrence patterns. Over the last decade strandings were located only in the north area of the region, mainly during the spring season, while in the previous decade they were located along the three considered areas and only in autumn and winter.